CVE-2026-44378: CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity in randombit botan
Botan is a C++ cryptography library. Prior to 3.12.0, certain patterns of indefinite length encodings in BER data could cause quadratic behavior in the parser, resulting in a denial of service. Such BER encodings were accepted even in structures which are required to be encoded as DER, which prohibits indefinite length encodings. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.12.0.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Botan versions before 3.12.0 contain a vulnerability (CWE-407) where the parser exhibits quadratic time complexity when processing specific indefinite length encodings in BER data. This inefficiency can be exploited to cause a denial of service by consuming excessive processing resources. The root cause is that Botan accepts indefinite length encodings in data structures that are required to be encoded as DER, which forbids such encodings. The issue is resolved in version 3.12.0 of Botan.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by supplying specially crafted BER encoded data that triggers quadratic parsing behavior in Botan versions prior to 3.12.0. This leads to excessive CPU consumption and potential service disruption. There is no indication of privilege escalation, data disclosure, or code execution from this vulnerability.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Botan version 3.12.0. Users should upgrade to version 3.12.0 or later to remediate this issue. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed beyond the version fix note, so verify with the vendor advisory for the latest remediation guidance.
CVE-2026-44378: CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity in randombit botan
Description
Botan is a C++ cryptography library. Prior to 3.12.0, certain patterns of indefinite length encodings in BER data could cause quadratic behavior in the parser, resulting in a denial of service. Such BER encodings were accepted even in structures which are required to be encoded as DER, which prohibits indefinite length encodings. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.12.0.
CVSS v4.0
Score 6.9medium
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Botan versions before 3.12.0 contain a vulnerability (CWE-407) where the parser exhibits quadratic time complexity when processing specific indefinite length encodings in BER data. This inefficiency can be exploited to cause a denial of service by consuming excessive processing resources. The root cause is that Botan accepts indefinite length encodings in data structures that are required to be encoded as DER, which forbids such encodings. The issue is resolved in version 3.12.0 of Botan.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by supplying specially crafted BER encoded data that triggers quadratic parsing behavior in Botan versions prior to 3.12.0. This leads to excessive CPU consumption and potential service disruption. There is no indication of privilege escalation, data disclosure, or code execution from this vulnerability.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Botan version 3.12.0. Users should upgrade to version 3.12.0 or later to remediate this issue. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed beyond the version fix note, so verify with the vendor advisory for the latest remediation guidance.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-05T20:15:20.631Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a172e7be29bf47b50d78a43
Added to database: 5/27/2026, 5:48:43 PM
Last enriched: 5/27/2026, 6:05:22 PM
Last updated: 5/29/2026, 6:04:51 PM
Views: 13
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